Based on the premise that smallholders often get excluded as markets become more commercial, this paper draws lessons from the Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA) Project by exploring the main issues and challenges facing extension service partners in five African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi). These lessons...

Drought risk is a combination of the probability of extended dry periods and the consequences for people, communities and their environment. The management of drought risk seeks to reduce the impacts of droughts, either by reducing their probability of occurrence (mitigation) or their consequences (adaptation). The paper shows how an...

Peu de travaux ont considéré la construction et le développement d'un contrat comme un processus d'apprentissage des acteurs. Des agriculteurs individuels de São Tomé ont dû s'organiser et avancer collectivement, en réponse aux demandes d’un industriel pour un nouveau contrat de cacao biologique et équitable. Cette construction relationnelle entre les...

En un contexto de cambio climático y volatilidad de precios agrícolas, se impone revisar las prioridades de inversión del sector. Expertos internacionales señalan la necesidad de reorientar la inversión pública hacia la pequeña agricultura de manera estratégica.

La Red Café de la Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Pequeños Productores de Comercio Justo, comprometida con las organizaciones que la integran ha decido retomar el tema del calentamiento global, y el aporte de la agricultura sostenible de los pequeños productores a la mitigación del mismo. En la actualidad el cambio climático...

Los proyectos pueden ser una oportunidad para resolver o iniciar procesos que contribuyan a la solución de los problemas presentes en las comunidades. Mediante ellos se accede a recursos monetarios y humanos que no siempre están disponibles para tales fines. Por otra parte, los proyectos necesitan de la participación de...

Achieving balance between water demand and supply is crucial for sustainable agriculture in semi-arid countries. Many agronomic options and socio-economic measures can be applied to reduce water demand in agriculture sector without compromising its performance. This work investigated some specific management options for the improvement of the performances of the...

Los proyectos de electrificación rural tienen como objetivo reducir las brechas de oportunidades de las poblaciones más alejadas. Hacen posible la diversificación de sus actividades económicas, tanto productivas como comerciales, y permiten que servicios públicos como educación, salud, comunicación, entre otros, mejoren en su calidad y cobertura. La multiplicación de este...

Dimitra Newsletter 19 highlights FAO’s strong interest in the exchange and capitalisation of good agricultural practices and in the methods that enable rural populations to access information and communication. The Knowledge Management and Gender programme, which organised a Knowledge Share Fair in Niamey in June 2010, illustrates the innovative methods...

Originally perceived as an occasional natural hazard, drought is now a phenomena, for which one can be prepared, despite the difficulties in determining its beginning and end. It is therefore crucial to understand the individual and social behaviour, in order to adopt effective measures and policies to mitigate the negative...

Romania is a country of peasants, with a long deep history in peasant agriculture, which effects everything in the country, including its art, culture, and the way Romanians think. This has survived despite the best efforts of past empires and communists to destroy it. Today peasant culture remains the bedrock...

The village of Skotnice in the Moravian-Silesian Region (near the town of Příbor and airport Ostrava – Mošnov) may be proud of its exceptional rural museum. The project of construction of the museum was granted financial support from the Rural Development Programme – Axis IV Leader, within the framework of...

Bees are the most important pollinators in Europe. We studied bee assemblages on 7 pairs of extensively and intensively grazed sites in three lowland grassland types in Hungary. No chemicals were applied on the grasslands. The bees were collected using sweep net surveys and 1 m wide transect surveys in...

This Technical Bulletin is the third in a series produced by the Women's Livelihoods and Dairy Goat Project being implemented in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This IFAD-funded project aims to improve rural livelihoods in marginal, conflict and post-conflict areas of the two countries. There are large numbers of small-scale livestock keepers...

While indigenous peoples make up around 370 million of the world’s population – some 5 per cent – they constitute around one-third of the world’s 900 million extremely poor rural people. Every day, indigenous communities all over the world face issues of violence and brutality. Indigenous peoples are stewards of...

Os cerca de 3.800 participantes inscritos no VI Congresso Brasileiro de Agroecologia e II Congresso Latino-americano de Agroecologia, reunidos em Curitiba (PR), Brasil, no período de 9 a 12 novembro de 2009, tendo como tema central “Agricultura familiar e Camponesa: experiências passadas e presentes construindo um futuro sustentável” vêm através...

This Technical Bulletin is the first in a series produced by the Women's Livelihoods and Dairy Goat Project being implemented in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This IFAD-funded project aims to improve rural livelihoods in marginal, conflict and post-conflict areas of the two countries. Hygienic milk production, handling and processing are key...

Esta guía dirigida a niños, comienza "Pancho tiene 11 años y vive en una comunidad campesina a más de 4 000 metros sobre el nivel del mar. Él nos acompañará mientras conocemos el mundo de las papas, contándonos su historia, cómo cultivarlas, cómo manejar la tierra y qué productos podemos...

Central Asia consists of five ‘transition’ economies (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and covers 399.4 million hectares (Mha), about two-thirds of which are drylands. Developing sustainable land management options in this region must take into account the biophysical constraints (low rainfall, extreme rainfall variability, and heat and cold stresses),...

Women farmers grow, buy, sell, cook food and feed their children. They produce 60 – 80%1 of food in most developing countries and, as such, it is women that hold the key to tackling hunger and malnutrition. Yet their needs are often not recognised or understood. As a result, policy...